Biomass is generally considered any material derived from living organisms. Plant-based biomass, which includes plants and plant-based material that is not typically used for food or feed (e.g., lignocellulosic biomass), has become a valuable resource for energy production and raw materials. In particular, the fibers of many plants, including fibers from the leaves, seeds, fruit, grass, and stems of plants can be used for a wide range of different industrial purposes. For example, bast fiber is a specific type of fiber that resides between the outer epidermis of a plant's stem and its inner core, also referred to as xylem or hurd. The most commonly cultivated bast crops in North America are flax and hemp, which were historically used to make linen and rope.
More recently, bast fibers extracted from various plants have been used in textiles, clothing, paper, composite fabrication, and in many other modern industrial contexts. However, despite their potential utility, the ability of bast fibers to play a larger role in these industries has been hampered by the generally limited supply of bast fibers. Often times, plants that can be used to produce bast fibers are instead cultivated for seed production and oil extraction, and are not optimized for fiber production. Additionally, extracting fibers from bast plants and the subsequent treatment required to produce, for example, yarn for clothing or composite material for buildings is an expensive and labor-intensive process, typically involving cutting the stalks, followed by retting, decorticating, and/or degumming the stalks. Therefore, there is a need for improved methods for obtaining a wide range of raw materials from plant biomass, and in particular plant fibers, that are less costly, more efficient, less labor intensive, and/or sufficiently versatile to take advantage of existing supplies of plant biomass, regardless of its form or source.